


Patterns

by LostLegend



Category: IT - Stephen King, it 2019 - Fandom
Genre: Cuddling, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Time Skips, cute softness, hurt/comfort sort of, in case of emergency your richie can be used as a comfort device, innocent sleep overs as kids, kids to teens to college aged boys, they both love each other but theyre slow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-01-31 01:35:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21438028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostLegend/pseuds/LostLegend
Summary: Whenever Eddie would get into a fight with his mom or panic as a kid he'd sneak in through Richie's window to spend the nightAnd then they aren't kids anymore.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 22
Kudos: 78





	1. Prologue

The wind was so cold it felt like it was biting at his skin but Eddie didn’t care, just kept sprinting down the dark street as tears fell freely down his cheeks. He was almost there, almost to a place of comfort, a place where he could forget about how his mother sounded when she screamed in his face before locking him in his room, where he could forget about the cold and the way it felt like it turned his face to ice in the tracks of his tears. He could see the warm glow of the porch light as he approached the house, his feet pounding on the pavement and his breath coming out in ragged pants that weren’t even registering as coming from him as he ran around to the side window, knocking on it almost frantically. After a moment that seemed to linger on for a year the window slid open and the brunette could see the silhouette of messy black curls lean out from inside it. 

“Eddie? What’s wrong?” His voice was rough and groggy, like he’d just been woken up (which he probably had), but he moved aside anyway, leaving enough space for Eddie to climb in through the window, albeit not gracefully at all, and shove his face into his chest, causing the taller boy to take a step back in confusion before his arm came up to wrap around his distressed best friend. He rubbed small circles into the small brunette’s back, letting him seek comfort in him for a moment before he spoke, his voice small and watery. 

“Got in a fight with my mom-- She was yelling so much Rich, I just--” He cut himself off with a sob and Richie nodded, continuing to rub his back. 

“You can sleep here again if you want,” The taller boy’s voice was soft, no trace of the jokes that usually permeated most of his speech and Eddie nodded as Richie led the two of them to his bed, letting Eddie lie down before he tucked himself in beside him and let the smaller boy cuddle back into him in silence.

This was something that was familiar to both of them. Sonia Kaspbrak would blow her stack over the littlest things and it only took Eddie around five times being locked in his bedroom for the night to figure out how to pick the lock on his window. The first time he’d ended up in Richie’s bed had been an accident. He’d snuck out of his bedroom after around three hours in a panicked state and had just run to the first place he could think of; Richie’s house. Naturally, seeing the state he’d been in at the time, Richie had let him right in without question and since that night it had been a regular occurence, happening almost once a week. Eddie would freak out, sneak out, and then come crash in Richie’s bed, then usually he’d be gone in the morning as if nothing had happened. They didn’t talk about it, it was just something they did when Eddie needed the comfort of a friend. 

Tonight was one of those nights. Eddie pressed his face into Richie’s chest and sighed deeply, grateful that his friend never seemed to tease him about this. Even though it was sort of an unusual thing for 13 year old boys to be doing and even though Richie loved to tease him, he seemed to realize that this was something Eddie needed and didn’t give him shit for it. He could feel Richie rubbing small circles into his back for a few moments before the taller boy’s breathing grew heavier and his hand stilled. Eddie let himself relax. It was always easier for him to sleep when he was with Richie, tucked into his chest like this was a safe space, somewhere nothing, not even his mother’s harsh words and paranoia, could reach him. He closed his eyes, breathing in Richie’s warm scent as he let himself drift off to sleep. 

He awoke the next day before the sun, tangled in a mess of gangly limbs with Richie snoring loudly into his hair. Part of him, a part he wasn’t really dealing with yet, wanted him to stay there, to enjoy the warmth of his friend pressing into him at every angle and the comfort of not being alone, but his practical side won over in the end and he carefully detangled himself from Richie, making sure not to wake him as he slipped his shoes on and snuck back out through the still open window into the dark dawn. 

He didn’t bother worrying if his mother had checked on him overnight, she never did once he was safely locked inside. Instead he just climbed back in through his window as quietly as he could and closed it, kicking off his shoes again and climbing into his own bed to try and sleep for the last hour before school started. It was pointless, of course, he never slept as well in his own bed for some reason as he did when he was tangled up in Richie’s stupidly long arms and legs (which only seemed to get stupidly longer the more time went by). Still, he’d try and sleep a little more anyway, if only to trick his mom into thinking he’d been there all night.

\----------

Richie tried not to feel disappointed every time he woke up without Eddie there. The smaller boy always snuck out before he opened his eyes in the mornings, but a part of him still expected to find him there, still tucked into his chest, breathing soft. Sometimes when it was late, and he’d feigned sleep enough to get Eddie to drift off as well, he’d sit up and watch his smaller friend sleep. It was something that made him feel like a creep, but it was so hard not to watch him. 

Everything about Eddie that was so vibrant and energetic in the daytime was so peaceful and soft when he slept. His eyelashes fell on his cheeks in the prettiest way and he snored so softly it barely made a sound, but still made just enough noise to be endearing. Richie thought he could fall asleep to that sound every night and die a happy boy. Still, he’d never tell Eddie that. His feelings for his best friend weren’t something he could exactly bring up, and besides, Eddie needed him for comfort, nothing more. He was going to be there for him without making it weird even if it killed him, which honestly sometimes felt like it might. He sighed, shaking himself out of his thoughts as he slid his glasses onto his face, swinging his legs out of his bed and over the side as he got up to get ready for the day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just setting the scene haha, theyll be older in the next chapters but theyre kiddos here (And i know this is sort, its a prologue)


	2. old habits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the losers are excited about going off to college, all except for Eddie who's mom wants him to stay with her in Derry. Richie helps him deal with it.

“I can’t wait to get the fuck out of this shit town,” Richie nearly huffed the words, leaning himself up against the side of the gymnasium as he lit a cigarette. Eddie watched him, opening his mouth to chide him on the dangers of smoking before he closed it again, turning away. Richie looked hot when he smoked, it was annoying. The smaller brunette tried not to focus too hard on the conversation as Stanley chimed in from where he sat on a stair, book open in his lap. 

“Soon. We’ll all be out of here soon, and college can’t come soon enough. I can’t wait to get away from you, trashmouth.” He shot Richie a look and the taller boy barked a little laugh before taking a long drag of the cigarette pinched in between his slender fingers. 

“Awe Stanny boy! You won’t miss me?” Richie made a kissy face and Eddie rolled his eyes as his friends got into a small teasing scuffle, turning his attention back to the comic he’d been trying to distract himself with to no avail. He nearly jumped out of his skin as a slender arm was thrown over his shoulder and quickly wriggled out of the offending grasp. 

“Dude, get off me!” He huffed but there was no bite to his words, or at least no more than usual. “You smell like stale smoke,” he waved his hand in front of his face and watched Richie flash him a toothy grin that was still somehow obnoxiously attractive. 

“Your mom likes the way I smell,” he leaned in to bump his shoulder against the smaller brunette but before he could respond in disgust Beverly beat him to it. 

“Beep beep, Rich.” Eddie turned to watch her drag her own cigarette, a slightly amused look on her face. Richie just shrugged dismissively before he turned his attention back to Eddie. 

“Seriously though Spaghetti, you’ve been quiet today, what’s up?” The sparkle of mischief was still in his eyes but it was undercut by a slight note of concern and Eddie sighed, rolling his eyes at the dumb nickname which he’d lie about finding endearing if anyone asked. 

He considered making a joke for a moment, deflecting the question, but the slight worry on Richie’s face won him over in the end, plus, if he didn’t tell him, his best friend would probably find some other way to annoy it out of him.

“I don’t like thinking about you guys leaving for school,” he confessed, closing the comic in his lap and shifting slightly. “My mom doesn’t want me to leave Derry.” He frowned deeply before trying to shake himself out of it when he noticed the sympathetic looks Bev and Stan were giving him. 

“We’ll still all be friends Eddie,” Bev reassured but he just shrugged in response. 

“I know that, I just don’t like thinking about being alone in Derry without the losers club.” At that Richie threw his arm over his shoulders again, pulling him roughly into his side.

“Awww Eddie I knew you loved us!” He crooned the words in a sing-songy voice and it made Eddie laugh softly, shoving him in the side. 

“Everyone except you, asshole,” despite his words, Richie had gotten him to smile, and the raven haired boy wore a triumphant looking grin at his accomplishment. The others fell back into conversation with each other and Eddie went to open the comic again before Richie swiped it from him, the two of them scuffling over it playfully for a few moments before Eddie won it back with a victorious laugh, shoulder still leaned slightly against Richie when he slipped it back into his bag so it wouldn’t be stolen again. 

\----------

Richie was worried about Eddie. His shorter friend had been weirdly quiet all day and when he’d revealed the reason to the rest of the losers behind the gym it only deepened the curly haired boy’s concern. He tried to mask it with jokes and playful scuffling to distract him but he could tell that it wasn’t working all the way, Eddie could never really hide when he was upset. Not all the way, not from him anyway. 

He watched as Eddie snatched his comic back from him with a happy little “Ha!” before the brunette shoved it back into his bag, not moving from his close proximity with his taller friend. Well at least he’d gotten him to smile, that was something. Plus he seemed to be comforted by the fact that Richie was still close, which the dark haired boy tried as hard as he could not to read into. Tried and failed. Damn it Richie, don’t be weird. He shook himself out of it, determined to continue to distract Eddie from any bad thoughts with his go to tactic; bad humor. He put on his best (or worst) fake british accent, pinching one side of his glasses as if they were a monocle.

“Well blimey I do believe I’ve--”

“Not that shitty accent again!” Stan groaned from the stairs, cutting him off and Richie turned to respond with a hand to his chest in mock hurt before he heard Eddie laugh and turned back to look at him as he spoke. 

“I swear, Richie, that fucking accent hasn’t improved since we were kids,” he was shaking his head, although there were clear signs of amusement on his face. 

“Can’t improve what’s already perfect, Eds,” Richie shot back with an obnoxious smile letting his hand drop. Good. Eddie seemed sufficiently distracted from the fact that they had less than two months left together as a group. No reason to stop with the distractions there though, not when he was laughing like that. Eddie’s laugh, at least in Richie’s opinion, could have been one of the seven wonders of the world. He especially enjoyed when the brunette found something especially hilarious and would let a snort slip in accidentally, usually his face would get all pink in the cutest way and --

“Earth to trashmouth, come in Tozier.” Beverly’s voice brought him back to earth. How long had he been thinking about Eddie’s laugh? Shit. Were the others staring? 

“Wha- sorry got lost thinking about Mrs. K’s sweet sweet ass.” He smiled as his friends groaned collectively. 

“_ When _are you going to let that joke die?” Eddie rolled his eyes before fixing them back on Richie who just shrugged lazily. God Eddie was so cute when he was annoyed. 

“Probably when it stops being funny. So never.” He grinned and Eddie let out a little huff, shaking his head. 

\----------

~~**time skip**~~

\----------

  
  
  
  


Eddie didn’t know what he was doing. It was fucking freezing, and the wind felt like it was turning his nose into a block of ice. He shivered, sniffling. 

“Shit, I’m definitely going to get a fucking cold..” He muttered to himself, bracing himself against the cold night air as he continued to walk down the street, his pace slow and unsure despite his desire to get out of the cold. He hadn’t done this since he was a kid, hell, he didn’t even really know if it would be okay anymore. 

He’d stopped climbing in through Richie’s window to spend the night when they were around 15, although there were still some nights every once in a while where he’d snuck in while his best friend was sleeping and snuck out again before he’d woken up, just for comfort reasons of course.

Tonight, he hoped, would be one of those nights, although he was such an anxious mess that he’d snuck out of his house fairly early so there was a high chance Richie would still be awake. He checked his watch. 

“Shit,” it was only 11:15. Richie would definitely still be awake. Whatever. He sped up his pace a little bit, hands clenching into fists inside his pockets. There was no way he was going to go back home right now, so this was his only option anyway, and Richie would definitely let him in, he just might make fun of him. Eddie tried not to dwell on those thoughts too much, and failed. He let out a nervous breath, turning onto Richie’s street and spotting the warm glow of his porch light almost like a homing beacon of safety. 

“Okay,” he murmured to himself. “Okay, this is fine, this is normal, just gonna ask your best friend if you can sleep in his bed at almost 18 years old…” Shit, he was psyching himself out. This was supposed to make him less anxious, damn it. He sucked in a breath through his nose, hand going to grasp for an inhaler he knew he didn’t need, but still sometimes reached for anyway, before he stopped himself, speed walking the rest of the distance to the house.

He slid over to the side of the house as quietly as he could before he sighed, noticing Richie’s bedroom light was on, confirming that the taller boy was, in fact, still awake. Before he could even think to knock on the window it slid open and a tangle of messy black curls appeared in the glow from the open window. 

“Hello?? Who’s-- Eds?” He had a bat which he lowered as his expression softened and Eddie would have laughed if he wasn’t still so anxious. 

“Er yeah, can I--”

“Come inside!” Richie cut him off, sliding to the side so he could get in through the window. “It’s fucking freezing out why’re you just…?” He trailed off as he seemed to take sight of Eddie’s anxious appearance, red nose and puffy eyes. “Shit, Eddie, are you okay?” The smaller boy slid the window shut behind him and shook his head, staring down at his feet. He could feel tears welling up and tried to stop them, eyes fixed on one spot. 

“No I--” Eddie swallowed, bringing one hand up to his face before he sighed and let it drop, turning watery eyes to his best friend who just moved forward and hugged him. “I don’t want to be alone here Rich, in Derry, without the losers,” the words were slightly muffled as he pressed into the hug and he felt Richie sigh against him. 

“You might not want to hear this right now,” the taller boy pulled back slightly, looking down at Eddie with sympathy and something else the smaller brunette couldn’t decipher. “But you do have a choice, you know that right?” Eddie’s eyebrows furrowed and he let out a bitter little laugh.

“What the fuck do you mean?” He pulled out of the hug the rest of the way and something that looked like hurt and regret flashed on Richie’s face before he steeled his expression. 

“You applied right? I know you get good grades... Did you get any scholarships?” Eddie just stared at him for a second before he shrugged, moving to sit on Richie’s bed with a defeated sigh. 

“It doesn’t matter. She won’t let me go.” They both knew he meant his mother. Eddie had excitedly showed her the acceptance letter to UCLA along with the scholarship agreement and she'd snatched them from his hands.

_ “Oh, Eddie Bear,” _she’d said in a saccharine tone that was equally as commanding, almost a threat wrapped in a sugary package.” _ You’re too fragile to move all the way to California by yourself, what if you get sick? And besides, I need you too. Do you want to leave mommy all alone? Is that what you want? I won’t let you abandon me, Eddie sweetie.” _ He cringed at the memory but was shaken out of it when Richie sat beside him on the bed, frowning. 

“Bull fucking shit it doesn’t matter. You’re not gonna let her control your whole fucking life are you?” Eddie stiffened at his words, eyebrows furrowing in anger. 

“What fucking choice do I have, Rich? Do you think I fucking like this??” He was yelling now, and he rose to stand from the bed, standing over Richie for a moment as if he were about to fight him before he deflated, feeling tears prick at his eyes again as he sat back down with a little sigh. “She has me dude. I can’t escape. I don’t know what to do..” He stiffened when he felt Richie’s arm wrap around him before leaning into it.

“I’ll help you man, we can email the college board or some shit and like.. Well we’ll figure something out. I won’t leave you here, okay?” Eddie felt himself smile despite himself. A stupid childish part of him wanted to ask _ “promise?” _ but he wouldn’t ask Richie to lie to him. There was no way he’d be able to keep a promise like that, so Eddie asked a different question. 

“Can I sleep here?” 

\----------

Eddie’s soft hair was tickling his face and it was all he could think about. Richie shifted but then stilled himself, careful not to wake his sleeping friend who was snoring softly against his chest. He smiled to himself. 

This was just like when they were kids, although he was aware Eddie had snuck in a couple of times when they were 16. Richie, of course, had pretended to be asleep the first time thinking it was a murderer and continued to pretend to be asleep when he realized it was just Eddie coming to secretly cuddle for whatever reason. 

This was a little different though, he’d been awake for real this time, and Eddie knew that. Still, once Richie had made it clear that it wasn’t weird, the smaller brunette seemed to have no problem with cuddling up to him. It was something Richie would have been extremely happy about if he wasn’t so worried. 

Of course he hadn’t been lying when he said he’d help Eddie with getting into college, but there was only so much he could do and he was worried he’d have to leave him. No. He wouldn’t do that. If it came down to it, he could just say fuck it and stay in Derry. He almost shuddered at the thought. Nothing could be worth staying in Derry, but leaving Eddie alone was enough to make him seriously consider it.

The raven haired boy was brought out of his thoughts as Eddie shifted against him, tucking himself in closer to Richie’s chest with a little sigh. He leaned down, lips brushing lightly against Eddie’s forehead. At least Eddie could sleep, at least he could help with that if nothing else. Eddie had always seemed to sleep better with other people than alone, or maybe it was just Richie. He didn’t know but he tried not to dwell on that thought too much, forcing himself to relax and tightening his arms around Eddie as he tried to get himself to sleep. They could deal with all the other stressful bullshit in the morning, for now all that mattered was Eddie’s soft breathing, and how warm he was in Richie’s bed, and how nice it was to have him there and know he might still be there in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry richie's parts are so much shorter im really enjoying writing eddie this time around haha,,, anyway hope you guys enjoy this chapter! please feel free to comment if you do i love to hear back from yall so much ^^


	3. phonecall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> richie's still trying to help which is good bc eddie is wallowing

The light of the sun filtered brightly in through the gaps in Eddie’s curtains, causing the brunette to groan and roll over, one arm coming up to shield his tired eyes. It wouldn’t make a difference, he hadn’t been sleeping, not well anyway, not for the last month since the losers had all gone off to various out of state schools leaving him alone. Even Richie, who’d tried his best to drag Eddie along with him to UCLA, had been unable to stop the inevitable. 

Eddie sighed deeply, burrowing his face into his pillow. He’d probably never sleep well again, after all the last time he’d gotten a full night’s rest, or even close to it, had been in Richie’s bed and there wasn’t any chance of that happening again soon. He tried not to dwell on it, tried not to be miserable, but the fact that he was trapped in a town with nothing to offer him and no one to turn to but his mother had him just about ready to rip all of his hair out before curling up to die. 

He made a sound of annoyance as his phone buzzed from where it was plugged in next to his bed, one hand reaching out to grab it and check out whatever had made the sound. He was awake anyway, might as well see if one of the losers was awake in a different time zone. He sighed again when he saw one new notification. 

_ New message from: Trashmouth _

**Hey spaghetti u up?**

He was now. But why was Richie? His fingers hovered over his keypad for a moment before he texted back, rolling onto his side.

**It must be like 3 there why the fuck are u still awake**

It only took a moment for his phone to buzz again. Weird, Richie must have been watching his closely.

_ New message: _

**3:17 actually**

_ New message: _

**That doesn’t matter tho I got news**

Eddie shifted into a sitting position, his eyebrows knitting together. What could possibly be so important that Richie couldn’t wait to text him about it until the next day? Well technically it was the next day, but he knew the fact that his friend was still awake meant that he definitely hadn’t gone to sleep yet. He sent a question mark in response before his phone buzzed again. Richie definitely wasn’t waiting for his responses before texting back, that was for sure. 

_ New message: _

**Well for one thing I maybe found a way to get u the fuck out of the devils asshole aka derry**

_ New message _ : 

**And I was gonna wait to tell u but I couldn’t sleep**

Eddie blinked incredulously at his phone. What the hell was Richie talking about and how the fuck did he expect to help Eddie from all the way in LA? In the end he decided this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have over text. His hand hesitated for less than a second before hitting the call button and he held the phone to his ear, hearing the ringer only once before it was picked up on the other end.

“Hello? Eds?” The voice was tired but excited over the other end and a feeling of endearment washed over Eddie at the familiarity before it was replaced by anxiety and another feeling that he wished wasn’t hope. 

“Richie, what the fuck do you mean you can get me out of Derry?” 

\----------

Richie was nearly vibrating with excitement hearing Eddie’s voice on the line. He’d tried to wait, he really had, but he’d been talking with the dean of UCLA all week about late transfer agreements and transferring scholarships and there was just no way he could hold it in anymore, especially when he knew how miserable Eddie must be in Derry by himself. The brunette had been trying not to make him feel shitty about leaving him alone there, he could tell, but he still felt responsible for it, and for getting him out of there. 

College was so much different than he had expected, it was so much easier to be himself, so much easier to be free, and he was going to help Eddie experience it for himself if it killed him.

His smaller friend’s voice sounded anxious but it was laced with something that was almost hope and Richie couldn’t help the way his smile widened at the sound. 

“So there’s this thing… It’s called a late transfer agreement,” he started, the fingers of his free hand fiddling with the hem of his shirt as he heard Eddie’s ‘mhm’ on the other line. 

“It’s -- well I’ve been talking to the dean and they just need your original application and your grade transcripts and stuff…. It’s not guaranteed but--” He was cut off by a sound on the other end that was almost a muffled sob mixed with a sigh. “Eddie?” 

“Don’t get my hopes up, Rich…” Came the soft response, sad but sure. “If it’s not a sure thing I don’t see how it could--”

“But that’s the thing!” He couldn’t help himself, he found himself nearly yelling over Eddie on the phone, cutting him off again in his excitement. “Since you’ve already gotten a scholarship, that makes it way easier for you to transfer! You’d just need to make up some beginning class credits online!” He knew he was probably waking his suitemate up with how loud he was being but he didn’t care. He needed Eddie to know that this might be possible, that he might not have to stay in Derry, that he might have a chance to be free too. The line was silent for a long moment, as if the brunette were considering his words, before his soft voice came through the line again, this time sounding a tiny bit more hopeful (although it was clear even to Richie that he was still trying to repress any hope that might be bubbling up). 

“How would I… Go about making up the credits online… You know.. IF that’s even possible..” Richie grinned, satisfied with the fact that he’d gotten Eddie to consider it. 

“I’ll text you the details tomorrow, you’ve got to get set up through the application process again I think and then you--” 

“Can you PLEASE shut the fuck up its almost fucking four!” A sleepy shout echoed from the other room and Richie grimaced slightly guiltily. Oops. He knew he was gonna wake the guy up, he was being way too loud. 

“Sorry!” He called before trying to switch his tone to a whisper (although he wasn’t very good at it). “I’ll text you tomorrow, just woke up my suitemate,” he smiled as he heard Eddie breathe a laugh on the other end, imagining him rolling his eyes. 

“Good to know college hasn’t stopped you from being as obnoxious as possible.” His tone was affectionate and Richie’s smile widened a bit at the familiarity of Eddie teasing him. 

“If anything it’s made me worse,” he flopped back against his bed, phone still to his ear.

“Shit, maybe it’s better for my sanity if I stay in Derry,” Richie could hear the other’s amusement through the line and barked a laugh, wincing when he heard his suitemate groan again from the other room. 

“Okay I’m being way too fucking loud I should go, I’ll text ya tomorrow spaghetti man.”

“It is tomorrow, Richie,” Eddie laughed and once again Richie could almost hear him rolling his eyes over the line. “Go to bed, idiot.” 

The raven haired boy just smiled, stretching out a bit as he said goodbye and hit the end call button on his phone. This could work. It wasn’t guaranteed, but it could work, and it was the closest thing to actually getting Eddie out of Derry that they had right now. That was enough. He closed his eyes, rolling onto his side as he tried to will himself into sleep. 

\----------

Eddie clutched his phone to his chest, breathing out a sigh. He didn’t want to be hopeful, he really didn’t. Things often didn’t work out well for him and hope was just another way to make it hurt worse when things didn’t go according to plan, but still, this felt different. This felt like Richie maybe had actually figured out a way to lead him out of the dark tunnel that was his life and into the bright light of freedom. He’d just need to keep his mom from finding out. 

It wasn’t as if Sonia could stop him from leaving, not this time, not if he was able to get his credits in order and actually get a late transfer agreement, but she could stop him from having access to the internet if she knew that he was going to use it to leave her. 

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, rolling his shoulders slightly. This would just have to be something he kept under wraps until he was able to make his escape. Easy enough right? He kept enough from his mother that Eddie was confident this would be fine, the rest would just depend on him working hard enough to overwrite the fact that he missed the first two months (or more, depending on how long all of this would take) of school -- he could do that right? Shit. He was already getting his hopes up… He rolled his lip between his teeth as he stood from the bed. Time to get dressed and go to the library, he decided, to await Richie’s instruction under the guise of job hunting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this ones real short ! i havent got much time but am trying to keep updating it ! next part is the part im real excited to write so hopefully will be longer oopa


	4. study

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie's getting ready to transfer and he's SO close! Richie is excited about it too.

There it was again. The feeling that Eddie had been denying was hope was bubbling back up inside of his chest as he sat in front of the library computer and went over his transcripts. He had been working SO hard for this. It had only been two weeks since Richie had told him about the late transfer options but Eddie had spent nearly every day and night in the library making up credits (with the help of some very creative lies to his mother). It was beginning to look like he actually had a chance to leave this town and his old life behind, and the thought was something he’d been trying not to get too excited about, but he was failing. His fingers drummed lightly on the desk beside the keyboard as he read over what was left for him to do. 

“Mmh…” He let out a hum through his nose, mumbling aloud to himself in the quiet building. “Looks like I’ve just got… Holy shit..” He blinked, reading over it again. “That can’t…. That can’t be right--” His verbal train of thought was cut off by a loud shush from the librarian to which Eddie responded with an eyeroll, turning his attention back to the screen. Reading over it a third time confirmed what he had read the first two times in disbelief: he was only one assignment away from being eligible for transfer. 

“Holy shit….” He breathed again, blinking at the screen. This was happening. This was happening and it was happening a whole lot sooner than he had been expecting. Sure, he had had a general idea of what he had needed to do, and granted, he had been working his ass off for a solid two weeks in order to transfer, but there was something about seeing the words written out for him,  ** _last assignment to transfer_ ** , that made it so much more real. 

With slightly shaking hands the brunette pulled his phone out of his back pocket, opening up his text messages and hitting Richie’s contact. His fingers hovered on the keyboard for a moment, thinking of what he wanted to say before he typed out a message and hit send. 

\----------

Richie flopped down onto his bed with a long sigh, stretching his arms out over his head as his bookbag rolled onto the floor. He’d skipped his first class to sleep in but made his next one, and was now feeling like maybe he should have skipped that one to nap too. He yawned and rolled onto his side as his phone buzzed in his bag on the floor, leaning over with a groan to fish it out before his face lit up as he read the notification.

_ New message from: Spaghetti Man _

**Guess what??**

Richie smiled, knowing he’d have to guess before Eddie texted him again, that was just the way he was.

**Chicken butt? **

He hit send on the message and grinned at the almost immediate response from Eddie. 

_ New message: _

**What are u 12?**

_ New message: _

**No really I have something important to tell u are u busy?**

The raven haired boy felt one eyebrow go up at that, blinking down at his screen and shifting to sit up on his bed. 

**Never too busy for my spaghetti man, whats up?**

_ New message:  _

**DON’T call me that. **

His grin widened a little at the predictability of his best friend’s response before he nearly dropped his phone as it started to ring, fumbling to catch it in his hands for a moment before hitting the green accept call button.

“So what’s up spagheds?” 

\----------

Eddie huffed through his nose, pacing back and forth anxiously behind the back exit of the library. 

“What did I JUST say? If you call me that again I’m hanging up.” He heard Richie’s breathy laugh on the other end. 

“Okay, okay. What did you wanna tell me that you can’t tell me over text? Not that I don’t LOVE hearing you yell at me on the phone, what a turn on.” The familiar flirty tone served to take some of the tension out of the smaller brunette’s shoulders and he sucked in a small breath almost in excitement, glancing around in habit before he spoke to make sure his mother wasn’t anywhere in sight for any reason. 

“I’m transferring to UCLA next week,” the words came out in a rush of air that was barely audible and he worried for a moment that the other hadn’t heard him before he heard Richie’s extremely loud whooping on the other line, nearly bursting his eardrum. “Fuck-- Rich not so loud into the phone!” Despite his complaint he couldn’t help but grin at Richie’s excitement mirroring his own which he’d been trying to keep under wraps.

“Eds, that is SUCH fucking great news, do you need me to fly out and help you pack because I totally will -- I mean I’ll have to ditch class but I’ll totally--”

“Rich-”

“I’ll look for plane tickets right now I just need to call my mom first and--”

“Richie!” Eddie laughed into the phone, cutting off his overly excited best friend. “I appreciate the willingness to help but something tells me you shouldn’t get yourself kicked out of the school I just worked so hard to get into,” he paused, shifting a little sheepishly although the other couldn’t see him. “Plus… I’ve sorta been packing all the important stuff… Just in case.” He could almost hear Richie’s grin through the phone as he spoke again with a little huff of laughter.

“Thought you said you didn’t wanna get your hopes up,” his tone was teasing, and normally Eddie would at least fake getting annoyed at him, but right now the smaller brunette was too excited to hide how he actually felt. 

“Maybe I lied and they’ve been up since you told me about transferring, you think of that?” He couldn’t help the warm feeling that was filling his chest, and although the thought that all of this could still get fucked up in a week’s time still lingered in the back of his mind he pushed it farther away, not wanting to let anxiety taint the first truly good feeling he’d had since being left alone in Derry. “Anyway, I’ve got one more assignment to finish, can you talk later while I pack up more of my stuff?” He heard Richie whine over the line and rolled his eyes in amusement. 

“Nooo Eddie spaghetti don’t leave me so soon!”

“Oh shush you big baby, you’ll see me soon enough. For real and not just on the phone,” he couldn’t keep the excitement he felt from permeating his voice but at this point he didn’t care enough to try. “Call you later.”

“Kaaaay, love you spaghetti mannnnn~” came the response on the other end, and before he could get in a ‘don’t call me that’ the call had ended and he huffed a semi-amused little sigh, shoving his phone back into his pocket and walking back towards the library. He’d have time to talk to Richie about college more later, now he needed to finish his last assignment so that he’d even be allowed to transfer in the first place. Allowed to transfer... He let the thought circulate in his head a little as he bounded up the library steps. He was so close to being out of here, so close to a better life, so close to living the way he’d been longing to since he was young. One more week and everything would be perfect. 

\----------

Richie clutched his phone to his chest, flopping back against his bed again. Eddie would be able to transfer in only one week! That was so much sooner than he had been expecting and he couldn’t help the grin that had spread widely and goofily across his features. Any prospect of being sleepy enough to take a nap had been erased by excitement and all he wanted to do now was continue to talk to the smaller brunette, but he knew he shouldn’t distract him from the one thing that was going to get him out of Derry (even if he really wanted to). Instead, he decided he should work on clearing half of his room for the arrival of his best friend. 

Since his roommate had dropped out of school only two weeks into the semester Richie had sort of just let his belongings explode out over the entire room, something that Eddie would definitely both yell at and make fun of him for if he saw, so his work was definitely cut out for him. He rolled off of the bed and began to pick up various discarded clothing, tossing it into a small pile by his bed as he went. If his side of the room was a little messy that would be fine right? It would be, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try to make it look a little nicer for Eddie. But then again he had a week… He hummed to himself, continuing to slowly pick up around the room for a few more minutes before sitting on the edge of his bed again. 

“Eh…” He mumbled to himself, “I can do the rest of this later.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im still writing this i promise!! im just slow ;.;


	5. fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> he's leaving, he's free

This was it. His hands were shaking and his chest felt tight as hell but this was it. He’d decided it would be better not to tell his mother he’d be leaving, after all she’d probably find a way to manipulate him into staying if he did. Eddie knew at this point how hard it was to stand up to her, and he didn’t want to take that chance, so here he was, climbing out his bedroom window with a suitcase and a one way plane ticket to Los Angeles at 3:45 in the morning.

He strode to the curb, tugging his bag along with him before turning to look back at his house and beginning to fiddle with his hands. The uber would be there any second, right? He wouldn’t have to stand here and second guess himself and all his decisions for very long? As he felt his breathing pick up Eddie turned to face the street, grateful as the warm glow of headlights suddenly illuminated the street corner and a car pulled up to him, stopping in front of his house. The driver rolled down the passenger window. 

“You Eddie? You need some help with the bag?” Eddie let out a breath, shaking his head. 

“No, thank you, I can fit it in the back with me.” The driver shrugged and rolled up the window as Eddie opened the door and climbed into the backseat, tugging his bag in with him before closing the door and letting out a small huff of air. This was it. 

“Airport, right?” The driver turned, placing one hand on the seat beside him to look back at Eddie who nodded. 

“Yes, thank you.” He turned his attention back to his house one last time as the driver began to pull away from it, rolling his bottom lip between his teeth before he dug his phone out of his pocket. Fuck it, it was early for Richie but he knew he was leaving early, maybe he’d still be up? He was irresponsible like that… Eddie opened up his texts, pulling up Richie’s contact and letting his fingers hover over his phone for a moment before he typed a message. 

**Hey i’m leaving for LA now r u still up **

He turned to look out the window, watching houses and trees pass by for a moment before he jumped as his phone buzzed in his hand, startling him more than it should have. 

_ New Message From: Trashmouth _

**Yoooooo finally! Yes of course dude im staying up all nigjt**

_ New Message _

***night **

At that the brunette let out a long breath, feeling some of the tension leave his body. Funny how just getting a text from Richie could do that sometimes, make him feel a little less alone in the world. The corners of his lips twitched up in a slight smile before he typed out a reply. 

**U should go to bed when I get on the first plane… **

He hit send and then hummed, typing out another message.

**It’s gonna take me like… a long ass time to get there so sleep so u can get me from the airport ok dumbass? I don’t want u to be too tired to show me around **

His phone buzzed again almost immediately after he hit send and he rolled his eyes at the response, smiling a little more. 

_ New Message _

**Arent u gonna b tired as fuck tho?? **

_ New Message _

**So well b sleepy buddies together!**

Eddie typed out a response and hit send looking out the window again. The trees were going by in a blur now and for some stupid reason he almost felt sad. Sure there was a huge amount of guilt about leaving his mother (like she always said he would) without even telling her, but there was no way in hell he was processing that yet. Why should he be sad anyway? Sonia just wanted to trap him there after all, keep him in Derry away from anyone who cared about his sanity for the rest of his life… He was brought out of his thoughts as his phone buzzed once again in his hand. 

\----------

_ New Message From Spaghetti Man: _

**I’m gonna be smart and sleep on the fucking plane. Get some rest idiot**

Richie couldn’t help but smile at the message, well, at everything really. Eddie would be in LA in less than a day and with luck he could convince the dean to let him move into his still roomateless room instead of whichever room he’d been assigned. He typed out a quick response, reading over it once before hitting send and rolling on his side on his bed. 

**Ooh Eds u know it turns me on when u call me names **

He could almost picture his best friend’s eyeroll as he read the text. God he missed seeing him in person. He ran his fingers through his hair once, letting his curls bounce over his eyes before he tied them up on top of his head and out of his face. If Eddie wanted him to get some rest, fine, he would get some rest, but he was still going to text the shorter boy until he got on the first plane. Plus, he wouldn’t be able to sleep well now anyway. His phone chirped beside him. 

_ New Message _

**Fuck you, fuck off, die. **

Richie broke out into a grin, starting to text back before his phone chirped again. 

_ New Message _

**Seriously tho if ur too tired to do things with me tomorrow we aren’t friends anymore**

God Eddie was cute. Even when he was threatening and insulting Richie. No, _ especially  _ when he was threatening and insulting Richie. The raven haired boy sighed a breath of laughter before tapping out his response, rolling onto his stomach. 

**Yea yeah ill go to sleep when u stop texting me**

**Im just excited to see u man **

He really was excited, he’d missed Eddie so much. College was great, he could already easily navigate his classes and had kind of exploded on the social front despite being a freshman, he supposed those sorts of things just happened when older stoners thought you were funny, but through it all there was the distinct missing presence of his best friend, and no amount of texts or phonecalls could replace the real thing. Richie shifted yet again on his bed, holding his phone up over his face. He couldn’t wait to show Eddie the campus, and the city, and the  _ beach, _ fuck they had lakes in maine but the ocean was a whole other fucking experience. He grinned, watching his phone light up above his face and chirp with a new notification before yelping as it slipped out of his hands and crashed into his glasses. 

“Ow fuck--” He burst into laughter, rubbing his nose and sitting up. “God fucking damn it,” he was still laughing. Shaking his head at himself he picked up his phone to check the text he’d received from Eddie.

_ New Message From Spaghetti Man: _

**I’m excited too**

His phone chirped again.

_ New Message _

**I’m glad ur up to be honest i was sorta panicking **

Richie let out a laugh but before he could respond his phone chirped a third time. 

_ New Message _

**Shit I have to go we’re pulling up to the airport talk to u in a sac**

_ New Message _

**Sec***

Richie smiled and typed out an affirmative message before laying back on his bed again and waiting for Eddie to be able to text him again. He had no idea how he would be expected to try and sleep, the thought of the other flying toward where he was as he slept was sure to keep him up, still he _ did  _ want to be rested for him…

\----------

Eddie thanked the uber driver as he pulled his bag up onto the airport curb, making sure to give him 5 stars on his phone before he turned towards the airport. 

“Okay.. You’re fine you can do this…” He mumbled to himself, slipping his phone into his pants pocket and pulling his bag towards the sliding doors at the airport entryway. He’d never flown before, let alone by himself. He’d asked his mother once during spring break as a child why and had been met with her very anxious  _ “Planes are deathtraps Eddiebear! And they blow out toxic fumes if you get too near you could die? Do you want to die?”  _ Eddie remembered he’d hugged her, crying and told her he didn’t want to die until she calmed down. But this was fine, Sonia had lied to him about so many things and he knew he could do this just as he had done so many things she’d warned him would be fatal. For a moment his fingers twitched towards his pocket, reaching for an inhaler he’d left on his bedside table on purpose, left behind like so many remnants of a life he had so desperately escaped from, was still escaping from, before they stilled and he sucked in a slow breath, walking into the airport. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im still updating this! sorry for the delay -- this is just a short chapter bc the next part is the bit im really excited to write and its finals week for me rn


	6. reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the boys are back in town! (boys are back in town)

Tap tap tap tap tap, he was sure he must be pissing off the uber driver, who had been giving him looks in the rearview mirror nearly the entire ride to the airport, but Richie was vibrating with excitement. He almost leapt out of the back seat when the car pulled into the passenger drop off zone, thanking the driver as he ran towards the sliding doors to wait in the closest area to the terminal that he’d be allowed into, which turned out to be the baggage claim. Eddie’s plane wasn’t scheduled to arrive for another 15 minutes but he hadn’t been able to sit still in his dorm anyway so he’d figured waiting at the airport was probably the better plan, plus he’d been planning for more traffic than there had been. Tap tap tap tap tap, he started bouncing his foot against the linoleum floor as he fished his cell phone out of his pocket to play some games and distract himself while he waited for Eddie to land and join him. 

\---------

Nothing could have prepared Eddie for how disgusting airplane air would feel. It was dry, cold, and felt like infection itself was passing through his lungs every time he took a breath. Still he tried not to think about this, or the fact that he’d been breathing in strangers’ breath all day as the plane began to make its descent into LAX, the pilot coming on over the intercom to announce it. He’d be down on the ground soon where he’d be able to safely disinfect himself and where Richie would hopefully already be waiting for him. The thought hit him with a jolt of excitement.

He hadn’t seen his best friend in person in what felt like years even though it had only been a couple months, and he was positive this whole experience was going to keep feeling like a fever dream until he did. None of it felt real, leaving his house in the dead of night, navigating the airport to fly to LA by himself, and escaping from the suffocating life he’d led under his mother’s control in general still felt like something that could end suddenly and he’d wake up in his bed back in Derry. 

The brunette was shaken out of this thought process by the feeling of what he could only assume were the wheels of the plane going down and he leaned toward the window, watching the rapidly approaching ground. Soon. Soon he’d be on the ground, out of the plane, and off to a whole new life. Eddie tried not to feel anxious about this, after all, it was what he’d been waiting for; a grand escape, a new start, a place where he could unapologetically be himself without Sonia breathing down his neck telling him he’d die from any and everything that came his way. He fidgeted with his seatbelt as the plane touched down, bouncing on the runway as it gradually slowed and rolled towards what was probably his gate. He pulled his phone out of his sweater pocket, wondering if it was okay to take it off airplane mode yet. 

\----------

Richie almost jumped out of his skin as his phone buzzed, almost dropping it in the process of trying to exit his tetris game as fast as he could to answer it. He grinned widely when he saw the notification. 

_ New Message From Spaghetti Man: _

**I’m on the tarmac waiting to get off the plane, u at the airport yet?**

The raven haired boy chuckled aloud to himself before typing a message and smiling again as he hit send. 

**Got here early bc I know how much u miss my ass **

It wasn’t long of course before he received a response. 

_ New Message: _

**I do NOT. **

_ New Message: _

**But good you can help me carry my bag when I get there**

He laughed again. It was good to see traveling all night hadn’t wiped his smaller friend out too much. Contrary to what he had assumed would happen, Richie had managed to get enough sleep the night before to be almost filled with energy, and he was fully intending to take Eddie up on his request to be shown around as soon as he could. He resumed tapping his foot on the airport linoleum as his phone buzzed again in his hand, eyes flicking over the message. 

_ New Message: _

**Off the plane, see you in like five. **

Richie didn’t even know his grin could get wider, but somehow it did, the corners of his eyes pinching behind his glasses as he looked up from his phone to glance around at the area he assumed Eddie would be coming from. He’d missed him so much, and he was so so close to seeing him again and then never having to go without seeing him again. The thought was almost too much to bare. Tap, tap, tap, tap, it felt like these last five minutes were lasting a million years, but just as the raven haired man was starting to get even more antsy a familiar voice reached his ears and his head whipped around in it’s direction. 

“Hey Trashmouth!!” 

\----------

Before Eddie knew what he was doing his legs were taking off underneath him and he found himself barreling directly into a very surprised but excited looking Richie who immediately wrapped him in a tight hug. He breathed in deeply for a moment, suddenly feeling calm for the first time in what felt like forever, before he pulled back a bit as he felt a chuckle rumble through the other’s chest. 

“Good to see you too, Spaghetti man,” Richie was grinning down at him and Eddie took another little step back, smiling despite the nickname which he claimed to hate. 

“I guess maybe I did miss you a little,” Eddie shifted before holding the handle of his large rolling bag out to Richie. “Now help me with this and let’s get the fuck out of the airport, yeah? I can’t have this fucking air touching me anymore or I might die.” Richie almost yelped a laugh at that and grabbed the handle, turning with a little flourish. 

“As you wish, Spagheds! Onward!” 

“Don’t call me that,” Eddie rolled his eyes but he couldn’t help the smile which still lingered on his face as he followed the other towards the sliding doors and to freedom from the stifling air of the airport. Things would be okay now. He could already feel it, and he watched with warmth in his chocolate brown eyes as Richie pulled up an uber on his phone, cracking stupid jokes as he always did and gesturing wildly with his hands. Yes, things would definitely be okay now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is another short one but EEEEE hehehehehe we are getting to my fav fav fav parts to write and im so happy these idiots are together again eddie deserves it......... also i dont have to write fucking TEXTING DIALOGUE ANYMORE thank fuck


End file.
